APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 105 Darfur, Grand Conflict: Inter-Communal Rift and Grass-root Initiatives 105 sponsive to grass-root interests and needs played a central role in the restoration of inter-communal peace. This is indicative of the influence and respect local leaders command. Taking seriously a place for grass-root-level leadership in peace restoration could be beneficial to peacebuilding in Darfur as well as other parts of Sudan and beyond. Local leaders’ knowledge of their societies’ people, cultural values, customs, history, and psychology combined with their wisdom and genuine concern for the community lead to the respect and influence they have earned—all of which contributes to their effective leadership. Successful conflict mediation, reconciliation, and peacebuilding, at all levels, require such leadership, as various communities have demonstrated. The main recommendations for enhancing reconciliation and peacebuilding in Darfur could be stated as follows: First, local leaders should be empowered and strengthened to promote peace and security in Darfur. Potentially they could play a key role in rehabilitation and reconstruction and be a positive presence in peacebuilding and reconciliation in the post-conflict environment. Second, serious consideration should be given to involving local leaders in the administration of justice, when the time comes, especially in dealing with local perpetrators in accordance with tradition and the sprit of inter-communal reconciliation. Third, local leaders—not members of elite-based civil society—should be acknowledged as the representatives of most Darfuri communities if the interests of the grassroots are to be represented in the peace process. They are the guardians of the grassroots’ interests, who have their own ways of dealing with government. Fourth, complementarities and mutual interests between the two communal groups should be incorporated and built into post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction development projects for establishing a sustainable peace and inter-communal cooperation. Effective local leaderships that have gained the respect of their communities are potentially useful in resolving many issues in conflict situations.